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December 2, 2008 8:37:20 AM CST


renewable energy

renewable energy news stories

1 - 20 of 25 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

OPINION

 Gore: 5 Steps to Save Planet 

Nobel laureate calls on Obama, new Congress to act now

(Newser) - The road to energy efficiency is paved with the same solutions needed to fix the economic crisis, Al Gore writes in a New York Times op-ed. Dismissing proposals for domestic drilling, the climate crusader says, “We simply cannot any longer base the strategy for human survival on a cynical and self-interested solution,” and offers a 5-part plan to get started now: More »

More about:  Barack Obama Congress climate change auto industry Middle East energy Al Gore renewable energy power grid foreign oil sustainability carbon

Green Energy Jobs: Will They Save the Economy?

Obama's plans for investment in renewable energy turn cost into benefit

(Newser) - Barack Obama's ambitious plans to use green energy investment to rev up the economy are igniting fierce debate over the math behind them, the Wall Street Journal writes. The president-elect says $150 billion in investment will create five million jobs over the next decade, in construction and installation. Critics charge that the plan doesn’t take into account jobs lost elsewhere in the energy industry. More »

More about:  Barack Obama President Obama alternative energy renewable energy green energy job creation Energy Department

glossies

 New Solar Tech Can Top This 

Solyndra's designs can capture light from any angle

(Newser) - A California company's new, sun-sucking glass tubes aim to solve solar power's practical problems, the Economist reports. Chief among them are flat panels that miss the sun—by looking the wrong way—and cost more than $40,000 per household to install. Solyndra's new technology uses glass tubes that capture sunlight from all sides, at about half the cost. More »

More about:  California environment alternative energy renewable energy solar power solar panels

Native Americans Seek Wealth From the Wind

Tribes on wind-rich land hope alternative energy boom will reshape their economies

(Newser) - Native Americans own some of America's most wind-rich land, and tribal leaders in South Dakota and elsewhere are working to harness the natural power to cash in on the alternative energy boom, the New York Times reports. If they are successful, the projects could work transformations similar to those casinos did elsewhere. "The same thing that brought the buffalo brings the wind,” said a leader of the Rosebud Sioux. "The wind is a gift." More »

More about:  renewable energy South Dakota wind farm Native Americans Sioux

OPINION

Don't Breeze Into
Billion-Dollar Wind Projects 

'Heedless investment' could provoke an ethanol-like blowback, writer asserts

(Newser) - Wind promises a practical source of renewable energy, but if the US doesn’t develop it properly, it’ll face another ethanol-like morass, warns Matthew Quirk in the Atlantic . Efforts like T. Boone Pickens’ $10 billion Texas wind farm are misguided. “Wind power is unlikely to cause a global food crisis,” Quirk writes. “But heedless investment in it may provoke blowback of a different sort.” More »

More about:  renewable energy wind power T. Boone Pickens

Outdated Power Grid Blowing
Wind Energy Hopes: Experts

Creaky infrastructure not able to deliver alternative energy to consumers

(Newser) - The nation's outdated and congested power grid is putting a damper on plans to expand renewable energy programs, the New York Times reports. Generating power from the wind and sun is becoming easier—but getting the power to consumers who live far from the country's windiest and sunniest places remains a problem. More »

More about:  alternative energy electricity renewable energy wind power power grid wind farm wind

Mayor Aims to Make Big Apple Windmill City

Wind could supply
10% of city's power under bold plan

(Newser) - Mayor Mike Bloomberg has unveiled a bold plan to harness alternative energy to power New York City, the New York Times reports. The mayor is calling for windmills to be built on the city's bridges and skyscrapers, and for offshore wind farms to be created that could supply 10% of the city's electricity in 10 years. Bloomberg has asked companies for proposals for renewable energy projects. More »

More about:  New York City Michael Bloomberg alternative energy renewable energy solar power wind power wind farm

OPINION

McCain Strikes Out on Renewable Energy

Candidate features wind turbines in ads but again skips vital energy vote

(Newser) - John McCain's tough talk on energy has been undercut by his failure to vote on a vital renewable energy bill, Thomas L. Friedman writes in the New York Times . The bill, which has failed yet again to pass, would have extended tax credits for wind and solar projects, but McCain's absence—for the eighth time—is helping to stall those projects, and holding up thousands of jobs. More »

More about:  John McCain renewable energy solar power energy policy wind power energy bill

 China's Wind Power Takes Off

Could compete with coal by 2015

(Newser) - Although known for its monstrous appetite for coal, China has spent the last few years ramping up its wind-power capacity, the Guardian reports. The amount of wind power generated has grown over 100% a year since 2005, with enormous wind farms popping up across the country. "It is huge, huge, huge," said an official from the Global Wind Engery Council. More »

More about:  China alternative energy electricity renewable energy wind power coal power growth

  African Sun Could Power EU 

Scientists propose African solar farms for Europe's power

(Newser) - All of the European continent’s electrical needs could be generated by massive solar farms in Africa, scientists posited today, unveiling a plan to do just that, the Guardian reports. The proposal, which would require an area the size of Wales—insignificant in the vast expanse of the Sahara Desert, they note—is highly speculative; the biggest hurdle would likely be upgrading the European and trans-Mediterranean power grid to carry, and share, the power. More »

More about:  European Union Africa Europe renewable energy solar power power grid solar panel Sahara

 Gore
 Pounds
 Pols on
 Energy Plan 

Sees role as facilitator; says 'baby steps no longer responsible'

(Newser) - Al Gore made his first appearance on Meet the Press since he sought the presidency 8 years ago, Politico reports, this time pushing his agenda as the nation's self-appointed energy czar. "My own best role is to try to bring about a sea change in public opinion" on environmental issues, he said, following a Thursday speech in which he called for a switch to 100% renewable energy sources by 2018. "Incremental baby steps are no longer responsible proposals." More »

More about:  Al Gore Meet the Press renewable energy green energy oil companies fossil fuel

ANALYSIS

McCain's Energy Record Reveals Muddled Mess

Some see pragmatism, others inconsistency in GOP candidate's votes

(Newser) - John McCain can’t seem to settle on a comprehensible energy policy, Noam Levey writes in the Los Angeles Times , noting that the Republican has been on both sides of issues from oil drilling to ethanol. He favors fuel-efficiency standards while rejecting renewable-sources guidelines and rejects tax breaks on renewables while supporting nuclear subsidies. “There is a very sporadic pattern here,” said one environmentalist. More »

More about:  John McCain ethanol renewable energy tax breaks energy markets nuclear fuel contradiction

 GOP Going 'Green,'
 With Oil on the Side 

Party's newly crafted policy backs renewable energy—plus drilling